Baling machine

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for compacting discarded material, such as boxes, waste paper and the like, into bale form comprising a container having a downwardly movable platen therein for compacting the material and a drive mechanism for applying the necessary downward pulling forces to opposite ends of the platen. The drive mechanism includes a pair of upright screws drivingly connected to opposite ends of the platen. Each screw carries a nut and a plate secured to the nut and provided with a notch located to one side of the nut. A force transmitting bar is positioned in the notch and welded to the plate. The bar is secured to one end of the platen so that pulling forces applied to the nut by the screw can be transmitted to the platen over a prolonged service life of the machine.

United States Patent [111 3,911,810

Standbridge Oct. 14, 1975 BALING MACHINE Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite 75 Inventor: Wilbur R. Standbridge, Ann Arbor, Ammey Firm 01sen and Stephenson Mich. [731 Assignee: Ann Arbor Baler Company, Ann [57] ABSTRACT Arbor, Mich. Apparatus for compacting discarded material, such as Filed y 23 1974 boxes, waste paper and the like, into bale form comprising a container having a downwardly movable platen therein for compacting the material and a drive mechanism for applying the necessary downward pulling forces to opposite ends of the platen. The drive [52] US. Cl. 100/290 h l d f h l Im- Cl-z. B303 U18 mec aniscrintmc u es a paici; o fuplrig ltscrevs krlivmg y connecte o opposite en s o t e paten. ac screw [58] Field of Search l00/290, 229 A, 255 carries a nut and a plate Secured to the nut and p 56 R f Cted vided with a notch located to one side of the nut. A l 1 e erencesforce transmitting bar is positioned in the notch and UNITED STATES PATENTS welded to the plate. The bar is secured to one end of 185,250 l2/l876 Mason 100/290 X the platen so that pulling forces applied to the nut by 1,723,348 8/1929 Hansen 100/290 X the screw can be transmitted to the platen over a pro- 3,208,372 9/1965 Taylor l0O/290 X longed Service life of the machine 3,353,478 11/1967 Hopkins IOU/290 X 2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures -22 22 l so 0 1 \a 4. a.

s4 46 3+ o ,f 6 k 36 I I I0 32 l l 2 I 7 Fl [1 r L U BALING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Baling machines for compacting discarded material into bale form have been in use for many years. Such machines are commonly located in areas such as factories and stores where it is necessary to use up a minimum of floor area for the storage of discarded boxes, paper and the like. The machine functions to compact such material into bale form thereby enabling storage of the material in the compacted bale form until the material is picked up by a collector. In order to effectively compact such material, it is necessary to provide in the machine for downward pulling forces on the compacting platen which are of a substantial magnitude. This requirement necessarily results in high stresses on the machine components which often cause premature failure of these components. It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved baling machine capable of operating over a prolonged service life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the baling machine of this invention, the necessary pulling forces for the platen are generated by a pair of motor driven screws that are arranged in upright positions at opposite ends of the platen. Each screw carries a nut and a plate secured to the underside of the nut and provided with a notch located to one side of the nut. A force transmitting bar is disposed in the notch and secured to the plate by welding. The bar is also connected to one end of the platen so that up and down movement of the nut in response to rotation of the screw is transmitted through the bar to the platen. The disposition of the force transmitting bar in the notch enables the use of an increased amount of welding material to secure the plate and the bar together. This secure attachment of the bar to the plat insures against failure of the connection between the bar and the plate during use of the machine to compact material. As a result, the machine of this invention is usable over a prolonged service life to compact material.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the baling machine of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the machine components that connect one of the drive screws to the compacting platen in the machine of this invention. I

With reference to the drawing, the baling machine of this invention, indicated generally at 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as consisting of a casing or housing 12 having internal walls, some of which are indicated at 14, which form a container or compacting chamber 16. A platen 18 is mounted for up and down movement in the container 16 toward and away from a floor 20 at the bottom of the container. The platen 18 is connected at its ends to plates 22 which travel up and down in slots 24 formed in the walls 14.

A pair of upright screws 26 are located at opposite sides of the container 16 and are connected through conventional gear units 28 to a drive shaft 30 driven by a motor 32. Each screw 26 has a nut 34 threadably mounted on it so that in response to rotation of the screw 26, the nut 34 will be moved vertically. As shown in FIG. 2, each nut 34 has a plate 36 secured to its underside 38, preferably by bolts 40. The plate 36 is provided with a notch 42 disposed to one side of the nut 34. A force transmitting bar 44 extends edgewise into the notch 36 and extends upwardly from the plate 36. Welding material 46 secures the bar 44 to the plate 36 at the notch 42. The advantage of this particular assembly of plate 36 and bar 44 is that it provides for the 10- cation'of the welding material 46 along the long line indicated by the broken line 48 in FIG. 2. This extended amount of welding material 46 insures a rigid attachment of the plate 36 to the bar 44 during the application of high pulling forces to the force transmitting bar 44. Intermediate its ends, the bar 44 is bolted by one or more plates 50 to the plates 22 at the ends of the platen 18.

In the operation of the machine 10, material to be compacted is disposed in the container 16 with the platen 18 in its upper position shown in FIG. 1. When it is desired to compact this material, the motor 32 is operated to rotate the screws 26 which then act through the nuts 34, the plates 36 and the force transmitting bars 44 to exert downward pulling forces on opposite ends of the platen 18. The platen 18 is moved downwardly in the container 16 so as to compact the material therein between the platen 18 and the container floor 20. The motor 32 is then operated to reversely rotate the screws 26 so as to return the platen 18 to its upper position shown in FIG. 1 so that additional material to be compacted can be disposed in the container 16. The platen 18 is then repeatedly moved downwardly in the container 16 until a bale of the de* sired size has been formed in the container 16. Doors 52 for the container 16 are then opened so that the bale can then be ejected. The above cycle is then repeated.

From the above description it is seen that this invention provides an'improved baling machine 10 which utilizes a simple drive mechanism to achieve up and down movement of a compressing platen 18. This simple mechanism is able to be utilized in the machine 10 because of the use of the notched plates 36 and the force transmitting bars 44 to couple the nuts 34 to the platen 18. This arrangement of components provides for a couple of increased strength which will withstand the stresses to which the machine 10 is subjected during use. The location of the plates 36 on the undersides of the nuts 34 extends the allowable stroke of the platen 18.

What is claimed is:

1. Compactor apparatus comprising a container having a floor, a platen movable downwardly in said container toward said floor, means for moving said platen downwardly comprising a pair of upright screws disposed at opposite ends of said platen, drive means for rotating said screws, means drivingly connecting each of said screws to one end of said platen comprising a nut threadably mounted on the screw, a plate secured to said nut and'having a notch formed therein at a position to one side of said nut, an upright arm positioned in said notch and secured at the lower end thereof to said plate at said notch, said arm being secured at its upper end to one end of said platen so that downward forces applied to said nut by said screw are transmitted through said arm to said one end of said platen.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said plate is secured to the underside of said nut. 

1. Compactor apparatus comprising a container having a floor, a platen movable downwardly in said container toward said floor, means for moving said platen downwardly comprising a pair of upright screws disposed at opposite ends of said platen, drive means for rotating said screws, means drivingly connecting each of said screws to one end of said platen comprising a nut threadably mounted on the screw, a plate secured to said nut and having a notch formed therein at a position to one side of said nut, an upright arm positioned in said notch and secured at the lower end thereof to said plate at said notch, said arm being secured at its upper end to one end of said platen so that downward forces applied to said nut by said screw are transmitted through said arm to said one end of said platen.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said plate is secured to the underside of said nut. 